In an earlier post on the Artist’s Soapbox Derby that was held in San Francisco in 1975 I mentioned my buddy Ron Covell. Ron helped Don Potts build his car for the first derby in 1975, and then in 1978 when they held the event a second time he built this car for himself. He still has it, suspended from the ceiling of his workshop. The pictures don’t really do it justice. The framework is all stainless steel round bar, the steering is brass and wood. Ron build the giant rear wheel himself, laminating the rim from strips of wood and lacing it up to the hub.
Ron’s a pretty amazing craftsman, he just produced a DVD on making a buck — a wooden framework that represents all of the shapes in a car body — for a Model T Roadster. I’m looking forward to putting my feet up with a bowl of popcorn and watching that one soon! Meanwhile I’m working my way up to painting trolls.
McGlynn on Making 